Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus says a state of emergency imposed across the country since the abortive coup of July 15 will continue as long as necessary.

Kurtulmus made the announcement during a news conference in Turkey’s city of Istanbul on Monday.

This comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently rejected criticisms about a prolonged state of emergency, saying the measure could continue for beyond a year.

“Maybe the state of emergency will be extended by three months and then maybe another three months… This is a decision for the government and the parliament,” Erdogan said on Saturday.

Turkey introduced the state of emergency on July 20, after it declared the end of a coup attempt by a group of military officers. More than 270 people were killed in incidents surrounding the July 15 coup attempt.

Turkey extended the emergency rule by three more months in October.

Ankara has arrested more than 37,000 people as part of the ensuing crackdown, accusing most of the suspects of having ties to Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the coup. Tens of thousands have also been dismissed or suspended from their positions in the military and public institutions.

More than 100,000 people have also been dismissed or suspended from jobs on similar charges. Turkey has also toughened its crackdown on the Kurdish population in the country’s southeast, claiming it is hunting down militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Police officers stand next to demonstrators protesting in front of the High Education Board (YOK) against the suspension of academics from universities following a post-coup emergency decree, in Ankara on September 22, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The opposition has fiercely criticized the widening crackdown, with top figures in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) accusing the government of capitalizing on the failed coup to stifle dissent.

Western governments and major rights campaigners have also censured the crackdown, saying Ankara has acted beyond the law in its hunt for coup plotters.

Turkey has criticized the EU for not doing enough to condemn the abortive coup. The EU says Ankara has been acting beyond the rule of law in its post-coup clampdown.